Rolling into fall

Talking circles around Circular Economy Month

During the month of October, you can always count on three things – a beautiful display of colours with the turning of the leaves, spooky Halloween decorations, and pumpkin spice everything.

You can also count on hearing about Circular Economy Month, and the actions people are taking to reduce waste and adopt more sustainable lifestyles.

Organized by the Circular Innovation Council, Circular Economy Month is a public awareness campaign that aims to educate Canadians about the concept of a circular economy and empower them to take actions that better protect our environment. People are encouraged to hold community cleanups, pledge to reduce household waste, or organize a collection event for clothing or other recyclables. Any and all initiatives are appreciated.

Just what is a circular economy, you ask? Historically, products were manufactured to be used and thrown away. There was very little thought for reuse or recycling, or even environmental impact for that matter. A circular economy is just the opposite. Products are made using as few resources as possible, and with materials that can be reused and recycled, again and again. It keeps these materials in use, as opposed to ending up in the waste stream. This better preserves our natural resources and lessens the impact on our environment.

As the overseers of waste management plans for seven designated materials (soon to be nine with the addition of batteries and lightbulbs), we very much support the concept of a circular economy here at Recycle NB. We ask producers to provide details in their stewardship plans about how designated materials are managed (whether they are reused, recycled, used for energy recovery or disposed of as waste), and require them to provide a description of their efforts to redesign their products to improve opportunities for reuse and recycling. They must demonstrate annually their efforts to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and, ultimately, environmental impact.

To find out how you can become involved in Circular Economy Month, please visit circulareconomymonth.ca. Happy recycling everyone!